The invention relates to a brake handle for cable-pull brakes comprising a pull cable on inline-skates, wherein the handle is to be worn on the knee.
In the past, brake actuation was achieved substantially by means of pull cables, hydraulic hoses, back and forth movements of the knee, or by means of rotating the foot inwardly or outwardly. The pull cable arrangements and the hydraulic hose arrangements in the past have been guided along the body and arms to the palms of the hands. They are generally of a large size and uncomfortable and thus impair skating. Moreover, the fastening sleeves easily come loose so that there is a risk of being caught in the cables and hoses; this can cause a dangerous fall. Moreover, the effect that can be generated by applying pressure by hand is too small and the brakes are therefore ineffective as a result of the unfavorable leverage conditions.
A brake activation by moving the knee back and forth or also by carrying out a rotation in the foot area is always dangerous because both movements are also carried out during normal skating and can lead to a fall when the brake activation occurs accidentally.
DE 297 16 432 U1 describes a hand brake for inline skates wherein the handle is arranged within the knee area. DE 296 20 280 U1 also describes a handle for an inline skate brake which is fastened on a knee protector. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,540 describes a simple cable pull brake whose cable can be adjusted to different lengths by means of a simple intermediate member.
A brake handle of the aforementioned kind is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,235 wherein the handle is attached between the hip and knee of the skater. By means of the handle, the pull cable can be coiled and uncoiled like a measuring tape. A disadvantage of this known handle is that a fine adjustment of the pull cable length is not possible because each revolution causes too much or too little cable to be coiled or uncoiled. An individual adjustment of the cable length according to the body height of the skater, respectively, is thus not possible. Since, moreover, the pull cable extends to the hip of the skater, the arm can get caught in the pull cable and can cause in accidental fall.